


Family Again

by basil_leaf



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Ruin a Disney Movie, Season/Series 11 Spoilers, Tumblr Prompt, finding nemo - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-19
Updated: 2016-09-19
Packaged: 2018-08-16 02:48:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8083732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/basil_leaf/pseuds/basil_leaf
Summary: Set after season 11, Sam is trying to deal with his fears about the bunker’s newest resident.  Anymore of a summary would end up being season 11 spoilers.
Seriously, major spoilers if you haven't finished season 11 yet.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for a hiatus writing challenge and originally posted on my tumblr but now that we're getting close to season 12, I want to share it with you all, too! The prompt was "Are you... watching a Disney movie?" but you'll see that it's not really Disney-centric.
> 
> Huge thanks to my favorite Jerk for giving it a read through before I posted it anywhere and for (unknowingly, at the time) providing inspiration for Sam's thoughts and emotional state in this.
> 
> This is your last chance to turn back if you haven't finished watching season 11, yet. I'm totally serious, don't read this if you haven't watched to the very end of the season.

Sam entered the bunker after his run. He’d been running more lately, ever since Dean, Mary, and Cas had gotten him out of the sticky situation with the British Men of Letters. It was a chance to be alone with his thoughts and he often lost himself in the rhythm of his feet hitting the pavement.

He jogged down the stairs and into the main room just as Dean was settling himself in front of the tv, the menu screen of a blu-ray on the display.

“Are you… watching a Disney movie?” Sam questioned.

“What? Dude, no! This is,” Dean hesitated, “This is Pixar. And besides, it’s research.”

“First, Pixar is a branch of Disney and, second,” Sam retorted, “research my ass. We haven’t had a case in over a week.”

“Whatever, smartass.” Dean shot back, giving his brother his best bitchface before turning back to the tv and fiddling with the remote a bit.

Sam just smiled indulgently at the back of his brother’s head. They had called the bunker home for a couple of years, now, and Sam loved how cozy his brother seemed in the space. Sam had never known “home” but it was clear now that Dean had always yearned for what he had lost when his childhood had been torn away by the yellow eyed demon.

“So, what are you “researching” with this Pixar movie?” Sam asked Dean, trying - and likely failing - to keep the sarcasm out of his voice.

“Metatron downloaded all of that pop culture stuff into Cas’s brain but he’s never actually seen any of it and mom has her list of what she wants to catch up on. She was impressed by the animation on tv so I told her she had to check out a movie” Dean looked at Sam again and continued, “You can watch with us if you want.”

“Thanks, I might come in part way through,” Sam responded. “I’ve, uh, got some stuff I need to take care of, first.” 

It seemed to him that Dean had taken to Mary’s sudden resurrection and presence in the bunker like a fish to water. Sam, on the other hand, was struggling. He had never had a mother and suddenly finding himself in the role of son at age 33 to a mother who would have raised her sons to be anything but what they had ended up becoming was proving to be more difficult for Sam to deal with than he would have anticipated.

Sam gave his mom a tight smile and a nod as she exited the kitchen with a big bowl of popcorn.

“Will you be joining us, sweetheart?” she asked.

“Uh, maybe in a bit,” Sam told her as he started heading toward his bedroom.

When he got to his room, Sam stripped off his shirt. He grabbed his towel and continued on down the hallway to the bathroom. When he got there, he turned the shower on and waited for steam to fill the room before he stepped under the spray. He put his back to the water and let it pound down on his tight muscles. The hot water sluiced over his body, running down his chest, abs, and thighs on it’s way to the drain. 

Sam’s mind began to wander as the water rinsed the sweat from his body. It wasn’t that he was unhappy to have his mom back. Hell, even though he had no memories of her, he would be lying to say that the news hadn’t excited him, especially at first. But soon enough, the fears crept in.

Despite Dean’s assurances that it was actually their mom, Sam had subtly tested her. He slipped holy water into her lemonade the first time he’d gone to pick up one of their meals. He’d set the table - because that was apparently something they did now that mom was back - with real silver flatware that he’d discovered in the bunker. He’d even purposely bought cleaner with borax and exchanged it with what they had been using to clean the bathroom in the bunker, despite the fact that Dick Roman had been dead for years.

Sam was fairly certain that his mom was actually human and that she was really their mom. Her actions and words since she returned spoke to her having her soul intact and where it belonged but he still sometimes considered asking Cas to check. He knew that Chuck wouldn’t have allowed her to come back soulless on purpose but, then again, Cas hadn’t intended to leave Sam’s soul behind when he’d pulled him out of the cage. And the fact that it was Amara, not Chuck, who had resurrected Mary continually weighed on Sam’s mind. 

Sam finished up his shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. He returned to his room, still thinking and worrying, and threw on a pair of sweatpants and his favorite t-shirt before heading back toward the main room.

He popped into the kitchen to grab a beer and practically ran into his mother in the doorway on his way in.

“Mom… Hi.” Sam backed away from her quickly and he couldn’t help but notice the flash of hurt in her eyes.

“Hey, Sammy, can we talk for a minute?” she asked, her voice calm and soothing as she turned back toward the room she had just exited.

“It’s Sam,” he muttered under his breath, more out of habit than anything, as he followed her into the kitchen.

Mary let out a small laugh and smiled fondly at her younger son. “Sorry about that. I guess we’re all still adjusting.”

“Yeah,” Sam breathed as he leaned back against the kitchen counter. “Don’t worry about it.” He looked up at her briefly but cast his eyes toward the ground again when his mom tried to hold eye contact with him.

“You know,” Mary began, “I’ve been in your shoes.”

Sam raised his gaze and fixed her with an inquisitive but disbelieving look.

“Well, not exactly this situation,” she continued, “but I’ve stood across the room from someone I wasn’t sure of. Someone who might not have been all that they appeared to be. I get it. Every instinct is telling you to throw some holy water in my face.”

Sam wanted to answer, wanted to deny it, but he couldn’t. For the first time since she had returned, he was able to hold eye contact, though. That was a start, he thought.

“Your trick with the silver at dinner was clever - much more subtle than Dean was - and, maybe, you don’t want to splash me with holy water.” Mary mused. “If I had to hazard a guess, I’ve been drinking some here and there without even realizing it.” She wasn’t asking a question, condemning, or even judging but Sam felt compelled to answer.

“Sorry about that,” Sam replied with a nod, confirming his mother’s suspicions.

“Sam, honey, I get it,” she soothed her son. “I grew up in the life, too. Everything about this is…” she trailed off. “Well, it’s not natural. I shouldn’t be here. I hate that you boys were raised to be hunters but you were. And if you two weren’t wary, if you didn’t check out everything you could, examine every angle, I’d raise John from the dead myself and kill him all over again”

Sam was slightly mollified by Mary’s words and tone of voice but he was still worried. He wasn’t sure he could put his fears into words without getting into details he’d rather not share with his mom.

“Thanks, mom,” he started, though he was unsure how to continue. “It’s just…” he paused to collect his thoughts and Mary waited. She didn’t push or pry, just stood and looked at him with love and support. Sam found it almost unnerving, no one but Dean and Jessica had ever looked at him quite like that. Amelia had come close but, like him, she had been so broken during the time they were together.

Sam shook himself out of these memories, they were stories for another time. 

“It’s just, you’re not the first Winchester to be resurrected, you know? And it doesn’t, it hasn’t always gone well for us.” For me, he thought but didn’t say out loud.

“Ah, yes. Dean shared some of the Winchester resurrection stories with me,” Mary told her son. “Apparently, there are even some books out there where I can read about a few of them,” she chuckled. “I’d rather hear all of the stories from you boys, though.” Mary noticed that Sam had tensed up at the news that Dean had shared some of their history.

“Dean didn’t share everything,” she added quickly. “Some of the stories are only yours to tell if and when you’re ready.”

Sam relaxed a little at that news but then Mary continued, her voice so low it was nearly a whisper.

“He did tell me that you came back without a soul, though.”

Sam’s eyes went wide at that revelation and his breathing picked up. He was not prepared to share that part of his life with his mother; he was still haunted by some of his actions during that time. “He- he did?” He managed to squeak out.

“All he told me is that it happened but that your soul was restored and Castiel was able to deal with any lingering side effects.” She watched as Sam released the breath he was holding, probably without even realizing it. “He was trying to convince me to allow his angel to check for my soul. He didn’t realize that I would do anything he asked to assuage his fears, no convincing necessary.”

Mary paused and held Sam’s gaze before she continued. “Your’s too. If you’d like, I’ll ask Castiel to do it again now that you’re home with us.” Mary didn’t want to go through that pain again but she would for her son. She had only really known Sam as an infant and Dean as a toddler but she still knew that she would give any and everything for these now adult men whom she loved just as deeply as she had loved her babies.

“No, that’s, that’s alright, mom,” Sam said as he recalled the pain from that process with a wince. 

The pair stood in silence for a few minutes before Sam spoke again.

“Thank you.” It was barely a whisper but Mary heard him.

“I may not know the man you’ve become quite yet, but never doubt that I love you, Sam,” Mary replied as she approached her younger son and slowly folded him into a hug.

Sam let himself be held for a time before pulling back. He smiled at his mom.

“So, Dean’s angel, huh?” He asked. “You see that too? It’s not just me?”

Mary laughed at that. “No, sweetie, it’s not just you. Though I don’t think they see it quite yet.”

Sam went to the refrigerator and grabbed the beer he had initially entered the kitchen to get and picked up another for Mary, too.

They returned to the main room where Dean was watching Castiel watch the movie.

“I understand,” Cas told Dean as he stared at the screen intently. “A school of clownfish is built around a dominant female fish. When the female dies, the most dominant male changes sex and takes her place at the top of the hierarchy. The next male in line becomes the new dominant male and mates with her in order to create more clownfish. Marlin needs to find Nemo to repopulate their colony.”

“What?” Dean sputtered. “No, Cas! No! This is just… it’s Disney… it’s…” Dean was so scandalized he couldn’t finish his sentence. “Are you serious?”

“I am always quite serious, Dean.” Cas answered but it was drowned out by Sam and Mary’s laughter. Sam shot his mom a smile as he sunk down into of the chairs. He still needed to learn what it meant to be a son after so many years without his mom but he was confident that they’d all figure it out in time.

**Author's Note:**

> This - and a few other fics - can be found over on my tumblr, revwinchester.tumblr.com. I try to post about once a week over there. Come check me out!


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